Automobile doorlock



July 10, 1934. A RUPP 1,965,723

AUTOMOBILE DOORLOCK Filed March so, 1953 "Win IIIILu' uuMc: W

ATTORNEY Patented July 10, 1934 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE Locks for securing automobile doors have usually been made to secure the door only in the fully closed position and there have been no successful meansprovided for holding the door in partially opened or fully opened position.

It sometimes occurs, when one is entering an automobile, that the door swings and impinges against the ankle or foot against the door frame when the passenger is almost completely within the vehicle, and this is apt to cause a strain in the leg or foot, or even a fracture. At other times it is desirable to have the door remain in partially opened position, especially in the summer, to facilitate ventilation within the vehicle. At times it is desirable to have the door held in the fully opened position, especially when baggage is being put into or removed from the vehicle. The object of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device which will hold the door in partially opened or fully opened position in order'to meet the above conditions.

Preferably, the present locking device is so associated with the ordinary door locking device that when the latter is operated my improved device will be operated automatically in conjunction therewith, so that the person operating the door will use the ordinary inside or outside handle and will not have to give special attention to my improvement. Another object is to provide a device of the above character which will permit the door to be slammed closed by the operator without having to grasp either handle.

Other objects and advantages will be set forth in the following detailed description of my invention.

In the drawing forming part of this application,

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2 and illustrating an automobile door with my improved device applied thereto,

Figure 2 is an elevation looking at the inside of the door and showing my attachment applied thereto, part of the door and casement being broken awayto show the interior parts,

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the casement of the locking device, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

In the drawing I have illustrated a portion 1 of the lower half of an automobile door, together with a portion of the sash 2. This door is attached by means of hinges 3 with the door frame 4 and the opposite end of the door is adapted to co-operate with the portion.5 of the door frame in the usual manner.

I have shown the crank 6 on the inside of the door for raising and lowering the sash, although this forms no part of my present invention. I have indicated the outer handle 7 which is one of the usual handles employed for unlocking the ordinary door lock. I have also shown the innet handle 8 which is mounted to turn on the shaft 9 and which is connected with the shaft of the handle 7 for also operating the ordinary lock. Preferably, my present device is associated with either or both of these handles, so that when the ordinary locking handle is operated my present device will be operated at the same time to release the new lock from holding the door.

I have shown a bracket 10 attached to and preferably set into the frame member 11 which constitutes part of the door frame, this bracket being arranged adjacent the edge of the door which is attached to the hinges 3. Preferably, the frame member 12 of the door is cut out as shown at 13 to allow this bracket to project slightly into the door when the latter is in closed position. There is a link 14 pivotally connected -to the ears 15 forming part of the bracket 10 and this link is preferably curved or arched to pass around the edge of the door sash 2 and to extend along the inner surface of the wall 16 of the door to a point adjacent the inner operating handle 8.

I have provided a housing including a top wall 17, side and end walls 18, 19, a dividing wall 20, and a vertically extending portion 21 which is provided with a vertical channel 22. The top wall 17 and the dividing wall 20 together with the portions of the side walls adjacent thereto, form a raceway 23 within which an enlarged end 24 of the link 14 is adapted to slide back and forth, right and left, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Within an opening 25 in the end of the link which travels in the raceway 23 there is provided a coiled spring 26 which presses against the head of a latch member 27. This latch member has a flange 28 which is guided laterally of the member 24 by the walls of the compartment 25 and the latch proper 2'7 projects laterally through and is adapted to slide in the aperture 29 which is smaller than the compartment 25. Where it is desired to have the door operate in a manner to permit the door to be slammed closed, this latch has a rounded surface 30 on one side and a square abutment surface on the opposite side. 5

There is a nut 31 threaded into one side of the latch remain attached to the member 24 if the latter is withdrawn from the raceway 23.

The dividing wall 20 is provided with a number of 'apertures 32, 33, 34 extending therethrough, the number and position of which depend upon what positions the door is to be locked by the present device. The right hand aperture 32 in Figure 3 receives the bolt 27 when the door is in fully closed position, the aperture 33 next to it receives the bolt when the door is in partially closed position, which position may be the one desired for ventilation, and the aperture 34 to the extreme left in Figure 3 receives the bolt when the door is in the fully open position.

There is a T shaped member 35 the shank of which slides vertically in the raceway 22 of the housing, and the head 36 of this member is adapted to move vertically to a slight extent within the chamber 37 below the dividing wall 20. On the top this head has several projections 38 registering with the several apertures 32-34 of the dividing wall; and when the top surface of the head 36 is pressed up against the bottom surface of the wall 20 these several projections 38 enter and fill the apertures 32-34 in the dividing wall to form a flush surface in the top of this wall, over which the latch may slide. When the member 36 is in its raised position, therefore, the latch will be prevented from entering any of the apertures 32-34 or in other words, the latch may slide across the dividing wall without entering any of the apertures.

Theremay be various ways of connecting the ordinary door lock device with the T member 35 and the particular means employed for this purpose will depend more or less on the type of door locking device with which the automobile may be equipped.

In showing one form of connection. therefore, I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to this particular form. There is a pin 39 rigidly attached to the vertical member 35 of the T shaped member, which pin extends through the housing and outside of the latter there is a fork 40 arranged on the lever arm 41, which fork engages the pin 39 for the purpose of raising and lowering the T shaped member; This. lever arm is part of a lever pivotally mounted on the pin 42. The other arm 43 of this lever is provided with an arcuate rack 44. On the shaft which carries the ordinary door lock handle 8 there is a pinion 45 which meshes with and operates the rack 44 for the purpose of swinging the lever on the pin 42.

Operation Let it be assumed that the door is in closed position as shown in Figures 1 and 2. If either of the door lock handles is operated, the pinion 45 will operate on the rack 44 to swing the lever 43-41 on its pivot. If the handle 8 is moved downwardly to release the ordinary door lock, the fork 40 will be moved upwardly and as this engages the pin 39 the T shapedmember will be moved upwardly so that the several projections 38 on the top of this member enter the various apertures 32-34 in the dividing wall. When the door is in the closed position, the latch 2'7 will project through the right hand aperture 32 in Figure 3 and will hold the door in closed position in addition to the ordinary look. When the T shaped member is raised in the operation above described, the projection 38 which enters the right hand aperture 32 in Figure 3 will lift the latch and cause it to be retracted against the opposition of the coiled spring 26 so that the lower end of the latch will lie flush with the top of the wall 20. a

When this condition exists, the door may be swung open because the bottom end of the latch will slide across the dividing wall 20 and it will not enter any of the apertures in this wall unless the door handle 8 is released. If the door handle 8 is released, as soon as the door starts to open, then the lever 43, 41 will be swung in the opposite direction to that described above, and the T shaped member will be moved downwardly to the position shown in Figure 3. This will remove all of the projections 38 from the several apertures 32-34. When the door, therefore, is opened to a position which brings the latch to register with the second opening 33, the latch will be forced -by its spring to project through this opening, and this will lock the door in a partially opened position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The door may be left in this position for ventilation purposes if desired. If it is desired to open the door fully, the handle 8 will be held in the unlocking position, thereby holding the T shaped member in its elevated position while the member 24 slides along the raceway 23, the door opening accordingly. When the door reaches the fully opened position, if the operating handle 8 is released, or if it be released before the door is in fully opened position, then when the door reaches the fully opened position the latch 27 will be forced by its spring to enter the aperture 34 whereupon the door will be locked in the fully opened position. This may be desirable where passengers are entering or leaving the vehicle and if it is desired to prevent the door from swinging against the person entering or leaving the vehicle. It might be also desirable, where the passenger is, lifting luggage into or out of the vehicle and desires to hold the door in open position by means of the present device while doing so.

If it is desired to slam the door without grasping the handle 8 as may be necessary in emergencies, the door may be pushed without grasping either the inner or outer handles, in which case the curvedside 30 of the latch will press against one edge of the opening 34 and if the door is pressed with sufficient force, the latch will be automatically retracted; and the latch will escape, in the same manner, the aperture 33, but it will re-enter the aperture 32 when the door is fully closed. The same is true if it is desired to slam the door while the latch is in the aperture 33 because it will be automatically retracted by the edge of this opening. If the door is locked in its several open positions the lock is not positive in one direction, in order that the door may be closed without grasping either of the lock handles. In the opposite direction the latch is preferably positive in its action.

When the T shaped member is in its raised position the apertures 32-34 are filled by the projections 38 and at such times the latch may move with the member 24 across these apertures without entering any of them. As soon as the T shaped member moves down, such as when the handle 8 is released, the latch will drop into any of the apertures with which it comes into register. Whenever the T shaped member is moved upwardly it lifts the latch out of whatever aperture 32-34 that it happens to project through, so that the member 24 is then free to slide in the raceway 23. From this it is apparent that whenever the ordinary door lock is operated to unlock the door the T shaped memher is lifted and this lifts the latch 27 so that the member 24 may slide along the raceway 23 Y and the door can swing in either direction. When the handle 8 is released, the door will look at any position where the latch 27 registers with one of the openings 3234.

The locking action of the latch is positive in one direction, whereas in the opposite direction it is adapted to be forciblyslammed, in which latter event the latch 27 will escape past the apertures 34 and 33.

The present device will act as a safety device to protect the door. Sometimes the door is slammed but not hard enough to engage the regular door look. In some cases, children riding in the back seat will play with the handle 8, thereby loosening the regular look. In either case, a door provided with my invention will swing open a short distance when the latch 27 will engage in the hole 33, thereby arresting the door so that it will not be struck by another vehicle, nor will it strike against the door frame of a garage in the event that the car is being driven therein. In the case of achildpresent in the rear seat, the present device will arrest the door and prevent the child from being thrown out of the vehicle.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination of a door hinged to a door frame, a link pivotally connected with the door frame, and means associated with the door for locking the link in different positions to hold the door in open position, including a housing in which the free end of said link is adapted to slide, a spring pressed latch carried by said link, a member of said housing having apertures in which said latch is adapted to lockingly engage, and a movable member having projections adapted to enter said apertures to temporarily prevent the'latch from entering the apertures during the swinging of the door.

2. The combination of a door hinged to a door frame, a link pivotally connected with the door frame, and means associated .with the door for locking the link in different positions to hold the door in open position,including a housing in which the free end of said link is adapted to slide, a spring pressed latch carried by said link, said housing having a wall provided with a plurality of apertures into any of which said latch may enter for the purpose of locking the link, and a movable member having projections adapted to enter said apertures to temporarily hold the latch from entering said apertures while the door is being swung.

3. The combination of a door hinged to a door frame, a link pivotally connected with the door frame, and means associated with the door for locking the link in diiferent positions to hold the door in open position, including a housing having a raceway in which one end of the link is adapted to slide, a spring pressed latch carried by said link within said raceway, one of the walls of said raceway having apertures with which said latch is adapted to engage to lock the link in different positions and thereby hold the door in different open positions, and means adapted to be moved into said apertures to form a flush surface over which said latch may slide while the door is being swung.

4. The combination of a door hinged to a door frame, a link pivotally connected with the door frame, and means associated with the door for locking the link in different positions to hold the door in open position, including a housing having a raceway in which one end of said link is adapted to slide, a spring pressed latch carried by said link, a member of said housing forming part of said raceway having apertures in which said latch is adapted to lockingly engage, and a member co-operating with said apertures to control the entrance of said latch into said apertures, said latch having a curved side whereby it will escape from said apertures when the door is forcibly closed.

5. The combination of a door hinged to a door frame, a link pivotally connected with the door frame and means associated with the door for locking the link in different positions to hold the door in open position, including a housing having a horizontal raceway in which the free end of said link is adapted to slide, said housing having a horizontal dividing wall forming part of said raceway, said dividing wall having apertures, said link having a latch adapted to be projected lat-. erally therefrom to lockingly engage in said apertures, said housing being formed with a chamber below said dividing wall, a T shaped member slidable in and guided by said chamber and having projections adapted to enter said apertures and be retracted therefrom, and means for moving said T shaped member vertically to enter said projections in said apertures and to withdraw 

